Scandalous
Published: February 02, 2009
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When ted haggard’s story first came out, I wrote this post. Tuesday, I saw him on CNN. The other day, I saw him, his wife, and two of his kids on Oprah.
The way he addressed his issues was more raw and honest than I expected. The love his wife showed him, and the way his kids talked about him, was nothing short of phenomenal grace.
Something he said made me mad though. Really mad. Although, it didn’t really surprise me.
He had confessed his same-sex attraction to his wife early in their marriage. He was abused by an adult male when he was really young, and that jacked him up. That was the trauma.
A few years before he began acting out on his attraction, he went to some leaders and pastors he knew. He said he was wrestling with these thoughts even more and needed their advice. Some withdrew. Others told him to keep his mind off of it by working harder for god.
After that, he confessed he didn’t know what to do with the struggle anymore. He desperately wanted them to be gone, and he felt like he needed to hold up the “ideal” of a perfect husband, perfect father, and perfect pastor. He made the decisions to not talk, and to act out - but it goes back to show that so many times we feel like we can’t discuss our brokenness with other believers…
That.
Breaks.
My.
Heart.
We all can choose to talk about our problems, absolutely. And nobody can be responsible for making that decision but us. The environments that the “church” has created, however, tells us something different. It creates an environment where we feel like we need to have everything figured out, or else we’ll face judgment, ridicule, and isolation.
That just ain’t right.
We’ve got to create environments of honesty.
And we have to lead the way.
Copyright © 2010 you129 & Anne Jackson. All rights reserved.
